Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: black panther, chadwick boseman, disney plus, guardians of the galaxy, Marvel Studios, star-lord, T'Challa, what if

What If…? Had Plans for Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa Star-Lord & More

As we mentioned in our earlier article showcasing the release of the character's key art poster, this week's chapter of Disney+ and Marvel Studios' What If…? ask yet another intriguing question. What if T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and not Peter Quill was picked up by Yondu as a child and became Star-Lord? With the episode set to hit the streaming service this Wednesday, series head writer A.C. Bradley and director Bryan Andrews spoke with EW about the late actor's final turn as T'Challa and how he approached the new take on a familiar character.

No Matter the Change to His Backstory, Boseman Made Sure to Stay True to T'Challa: "He cared about T'Challa so much — all the actors care about these characters but Chadwick Boseman understood the power of Black Panther and his role as an icon. He read the scripts beforehand, he would pass on some notes or thoughts. They were always smart, articulate, brilliant," Bradley revealed. "He wanted to make sure he had the accent right, that it matched the movies because he knew that because we're animation, there's going to be kids watching this. It was super important to him to make sure T'Challa is always presented as a role model and a hero. And luckily we were all on the same page."

Boseman Was One of the First Actors to Sign & Probably the Most Excited: "His excitement level was awesome because he knew what he was going through — we didn't, similar to everybody except his closest inner circle. He wanted every chance he could to get T'Challa out there, and this was going to be one of those last chances. He was a super pro and wonderful and super amazing and we had no idea, you know? He brought so much to the role and he was into it and fun," Andrews explained.

There Were Plans for Boseman's T'Challa Star-Lord: "We were already thinking of finding a way to do spin-offs and stuff like that of him and his crew to have these wonderful adventures, because [while] the character was so different, you can keep some of the virtue and some of the integrity and all the other important aspects of T'Challa as we know him, Black Panther, without necessarily the pressure of the kingdom Wakanda," Andrews revealed.

Marvel's What If…? flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. Coming to Disney+ this August 11th from director Bryan Andrews and head writer AC Bradley, Marvel Studios' first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU (watched over by Jeffrey Wright's The Watcher), featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles (based on details previously released).

• Ant-Man: Paul Rudd as Ant-Man and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym
• Black Panther: Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger
• Captain America: Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola, and Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Karen Gillan as Nebula, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Michael Rooker as Yondu, and Djimon Hounsou as Korath
• Thor: Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Taika Waititi as Korg, and Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster
• Marvel Cinematic Universe: Benicio Del Toro as The Collector, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Josh Brolin as Thanos, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark.

Bleeding Cool TV on Instagram: For all of the stuff too random and bizarre to make the site, make sure to follow us on Instagram: Bleeding Cool TV (@bleedingcooltv).

BCTV Daily Dispatch: For a look at what's going on across the television and streaming landscape, sign up for Bleeding Cool's daily email round-up of the news you need to know here.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!